Dashly vs Tidio (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Tidio: it is second in our ranking of help desk and live chat tools, and it grades higher too, 3.2 against 1.8.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Tidio grades higher on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Dashly
Website chat and AI agents that qualify and book inbound leads
Tidio
Live chat, ticketing and the Lyro AI agent priced by conversations
Which one is for you
Pick Dashly if
- Fits if you want chat and lead bots on a low-traffic site
- Works for teams who want unlimited seats
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you have traffic, because the price follows visitors and past the quota it adds a per-visitor fee
- Skip it if you want the AI support bot, as it is an add-on from $60 a month
- Skip it if you want branding gone, since that is $15 a month extra
- Watch out: Facebook and Telegram bots are listed as early access
Pick Tidio if
- Fits if you run a small Shopify or WordPress store and want chat on the site
- Works for up to 10 people sharing support, since seats aren't charged one by one
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you get lots of chats, as Growth climbs to $349 a month at 2,000 conversations
- Not for you if you need a help center or phone support in the same tool
- Tight if you have more than 10 agents, since more seats need Plus from $300 a month plus usage
- Watch out: Lyro's 50 free conversations come once; after that it's $39 a month for 50, up to $700 for 1,000
- Watch out: Flows reach 100 visitors a month free, and more cost from $29 a month for 2,000
How we grade them
| 1.8GPADashlyWeak | 3.2GPATidioVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$31.20 a month for up to 1,000 visitors billed annually, with unlimited seats. Marketing is $87.20. | AGrowth, from 250 conversations, is $49.17 a month billed yearly for the whole team, about $9.83 a head for five, just under 60% of what the cheaper quarter of help desks charges. Starter is $24.17 for 100 conversations, under $5 a head. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial listed; the page offers a demo. | CA free plan with 10 seats, live chat, ticketing and the social channels, plus a 7-day trial with no card. The cap you'll hit is 50 answered conversations a month, and Lyro's 50 free conversations come once, not monthly. |
| Features | CLive chat, a team inbox, bots, triggered messages and email. The AI support bot is an add-on unavailable on Conversation. | CLive chat with a visitor list, one inbox for five channels, ticketing, the Lyro AI agent, rule-based Flows and AI reply help. But the listing has no help center or phone support, and ongoing Lyro use is an add-on from $39 a month. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Bots and triggers have to be built. | A4.76 from 4,767 App Store ratings, the top band for support apps. Adding the chat box to a Shopify or WordPress store is what it's built around. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, Windows, iOS and Android apps, with Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram and Instagram. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android apps for agents, with Shopify, WordPress, Zendesk, Salesforce and Zapier, and an API. That's every device type covered. |
| Best for | website chat and bots that qualify leads | live chat for small online stores |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Dashly and Tidio. How we grade
Price against what you get
Dashly starts at $31.20 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Tidio starts at $24.17 a month and scores 3.3.
Tidio scores higher and starts $7.03 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 23 score higher than Dashly for less, and none scores higher than Tidio for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Dashly also covers shared inbox, marketing automation, help center, chatbots and popups.
- Tidio also covers help desk.
At a glance
| Dashly | Tidio | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $31.20 per month for up to 1,000 visitors, billed annually ($39 monthly) | $24.17 per month for 100 conversations, billed annually ($29 monthly) |
| Free plan | None | 50 billable conversations a month and 10 seats, with live chat, ticketing, email, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp, 50 one-off Lyro AI conversations and 100 Flows visitors a month. |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial of all plans and add-ons, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Dashly | Tidio LLC |
| Price read from | dashly.io | tidio.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Dashly
- The price is set by monthly unique website visitors; past the quota it charges a per-visitor fee, from $0.023 on Conversation for the first 1,000 over.
- The AI support bot is an add-on from $60 a month, depending on user queries, and is unavailable on Conversation.
- Removing Dashly branding costs $15 a month, and a welcome bot $29 a month, on top of the plan.
- Facebook and Telegram bots are listed as early access.
Tidio
- Plans are capped by conversations a human answers: 50 a month free, 100 on Starter and up to 2,000 on Growth; above that is Plus, from $300 a month plus usage.
- Lyro is free for 50 conversations once; ongoing use is an add-on from $39 a month for 50 conversations, up to $700 for 1,000, on monthly billing.
- Free, Starter and Growth are limited to 10 seats; more seats need Plus.
- Flows reach 100 visitors a month free; more cost from $29 a month for 2,000 visitors on monthly billing.
Key features
Dashly
- Live chat and team inbox
- Chat with visitors and answer messages from one inbox, with auto-replies for working and non-working hours.
- Leadbots and triggered messages
- Bots ask qualifying questions and messages fire on visitor behavior; the number of active ones depends on the plan.
- AI agents for inbound
- Qualifier, Support and Booking agents engage visitors, answer from the knowledge base and book meetings across chat and messengers.
- Messenger and email channels
- Conversations can run through Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, email and Instagram, plus live chat for mobile apps.
- Lead profile
- Visitor behavior, CRM data and conversation history are gathered into one profile that the agents and team can read.
- Marketing automation
- Email campaigns, funnels, A/B testing and a visual email builder on the Marketing plan.
Tidio
- Live chat widget
- A chat box for websites and stores, with a list of visitors on the site right now, operating hours and live video calls.
- One inbox for every channel
- Chat, email, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp conversations arrive in a single inbox, with a ticketing system for issues that need follow-up.
- Lyro AI Agent
- Answers questions from your FAQ and website content and hands off to a person. It can also be bought alone and added to Zendesk or Salesforce.
- Flows
- Rule-based chat automations built in a visual editor from sales and FAQ templates, such as quote requests or capturing missed conversations.
- AI reply help
- An AI reply assistant and Copilot help agents write answers; Premium adds Advanced Copilot, AI insights and CSAT.
- Apps on every platform
- Agents can work in a browser or in apps for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android.
Plans
Dashly
Conversation$31.20
per month for up to 1,000 visitors, billed annually ($39 monthly)
Live chat, team inbox, 1 leadbot and 1 triggered message. Price rises with monthly visitors.
Support$63.20
per month for up to 1,000 visitors, billed annually ($79 monthly)
Adds 2 leadbots, 3 triggered messages, reports, knowledge base and auto-assignment. Price rises with visitors.
Marketing$87.20
per month for up to 1,000 visitors, billed annually ($109 monthly)
10 leadbots, 30 triggered messages, A/B tests, visual email builder and funnels. Price rises with visitors.
Tidio
Free$0
50 billable conversations a month and 10 seats, with live chat, ticketing, social channels and 50 Lyro AI conversations for the life of the account.
Starter$24.17
per month for 100 conversations, billed annually ($29 monthly)
100 billable conversations a month and 10 seats, adding a live visitors list, operating hours and basic analytics.
Growth$49.17
per month from 250 conversations, billed annually ($59 monthly)
Adds advanced analytics, permissions, auto-assignment and macros. The price rises with volume, to $349 a month at 2,000 conversations on monthly billing.
Plus$300
per month, plus usage for AI and human conversations
Custom limits and seat counts, departments, several projects, custom branding, ticketing automations, OpenAPI and a success manager. Sold through sales.
PremiumCustom
From 3,000 Lyro conversations with a guaranteed 50% resolution rate, pay-per-resolution billing, a mobile SDK, SSO and Lyro run as a managed service.
Ways to pay less
Dashly
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
Dashly's pricing page shows paying annually as 20% cheaper than paying monthly, for example $31.20 instead of $39 on Conversation.
Tidio
- Annual discount
Two months free with annual billing
Tidio's pricing page gives two months free on annual billing: Starter works out to $24.17 a month billed annually against $29 billed monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Dashly or Tidio?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Tidio is cheaper to start with: $24.17 a month, against $31.20 a month for Dashly. Dashly starts at $31.20 per month for up to 1,000 visitors, billed annually ($39 monthly), and Tidio starts at $24.17 per month for 100 conversations, billed annually ($29 monthly).
Which has a free plan, Dashly or Tidio?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Tidio has a free plan. Dashly does not.
Which platforms do Dashly and Tidio run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Tidio lists a macOS app. Both list a web app and Windows, iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.